Intertextuality and Representation in Music Videos

Lily Allen has recently released a video for her song "Hard out Here". She has included a lot of intertextuality relating to pop and rap videos included the one most know for objectifying women "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. Her video has had mixed reviews from the media saying that it is not suitable for younger audiences and it's also racist as it features mostly black and Asian women, however Robin Thicke's song has had mostly bad press but had not been banned from either the TV or online sites such as YouTube.

Lily Allen - Hard Out Here

 
 

 

Lyrics

 The content seen in "Hard Out Here" is that of which is most commonly seen in rap videos where the rapper is surrounded by scantily clad women and women dancers. There is also a large amount of references to "Blurred Lines" in how all of the women features apart from Lily and dressed and the way in which they act around the main singer.

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines 

 


Lyrics

"Blurred Lines" features an excessive amount of footage of women dressed in barely any clothes (or in some shots none) and are also being objectified and shown as "toys" for the men can unwrap and to do what they want with. This video has received a large amount of criticism from the media from newspaper articles to online forums exaggerating this point and trying to get the video taken down.

Plans for Magazine Advertisment

Here are my plans for Kill the Freak's magazine adverts/posters:

I have made 2 plans for my magazine advertisement, both contrasting in colour and design. I  created 2 to show a clear contrast in how I wanted it to look, and to also experimented with different designs to see which one looked best for my groups chosen band and genre.

With my first design, I have included a large picture of a hand with the bands songs tattooed onto it, showing how their songs can mean a lot to someone and are memorable to listen to. I have also included social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter so the fans can contact the band and see what they are up to within their career.

In my second design I have included a fist to connote the pain felt in the lyrics of the bands songs and how their emotions effected their lyric choices. I have also included the bands name and the name of the single so fans can search it on ITunes and purchase it with ease.

Magazine Advertisment Analysis 2

This Slipknot concert DVD advert takes up an entire page of the magazine it's in. The cover used for this DVD displays a large image of a devil and the page is all dark colours which fits in well with the bands image and the Rock genre of music.

The name of the band 'Slipknot' in depicted in the centre of the page in the bands signature front and is a bright white which contrasts from the darker coloured background and picture behind it, as well as the other small print which is also white and stands out clearly. Their logo is also used on every single one of their products and is copyrighted because of branding rights.

The name of the DVD 'Voliminal inside the mind' however is small compared to the name of the band and doesn't stand out as much. The image of the devil makes the DVD look interesting and relates to a horror film so again works well with the bands genre.

This will help when creating my own Magazine advertisement as I can see what colours and fonts match up with the genre I am using, and how images can effect the style I am working with.

Magazine Advertisement Analysis 1

Justin Bieber -Believe (album) - Teen Now Magazine

On this page of album/single promotions, Justin's album "Believe" has the largest amount of space. The cover used for this album displays a huge close up of Justin's face which covers the majority of the cover, most likely because the record label demands it. The close up of Justin also makes him look important and angelic because of how the light is reflect on certain parts of his face, highlighting features such as his eyes and lips, making him also look more attractive. The colours used on the album cover make the artist look powerful and rather angelic, again because of how the light highlights certain features. The font used is rather simple, but all letters are capitals, making them stand out, especially  with the name of the album "BELIEVE" going straight across the bottom of the cover.

The outline of white also stands out well over the darker photo of Justin. Surprisingly  the name of the artist uses a very small font compared to the album title, and is displayed at the top of the cover, which is not very noticeable at all. I think the album cover uses quite simple images and texts to not draw your attention to too many aspects, as the main focus is on the artist face. Next to the image of the album is a little summary and description of the album which ends with the sentence "Another Pop classic", making the album sound really good quality and makes the audience want to purchase it.

Digipak Plan 2

I've also made another Digipak plan to see if using different colours worked as well, for example using two different blues instead of darker colours such as reds and blacks. 

Digipak Plan 1

This is my second plan for my Digipak design. I have used consistent colours of red, white and black throughout to give an effect of life contrasting death. I have also included the name of the band throughput to both promote them and advertise them.

Lyric Analysis - Idea pitch

Bruce Springsteen 

In class, we each did our own Lyrical Analysis of a song and I got "Streets of Philidelphia" by Bruce Springsteen. We each had to write down brief ideas on how we think the storyline of a music video for our chosen song should be and any ideas we thought of we could explain to the class.

Digipak Analysis 2

 

P!nk - The Truth About Love

 

 Outer

 

        Side 1- fold in cover        Side 2 - back song listings           Side 3 - front cover

 



 

 Inner

 

 

      Side 4 - CD slip in                   Side 5 - Leaflet slip in                 Side 6 - CD slip in 2

 



This is P!nk's Digipak for her album "The Truth About Love".

The album's front cover (side 3) on the outside depicts a photo of P!nk (the artist), her name, the name of the album and a promotional sticker. It has been designed this way to promote, firstly the artist as it shows both her name and a large photo of her  and also her name and the albums name are in large bold text that is clearly visible on the left hand side.

 

The back cover (side 2) of the album has a listing of all of P!nk's songs which are on the album and which disc they're on, All the companies that were involved in producing and distributing P!nk's album and the date her album was released.

 

The fold in cover (side 1) includes a large photo of P!nk covering almost the entire side. I believe this is done to again, promote the artist as she is covering the entire side of the Digipak.

 

The 4th and 6th sides on the inside, much like Olly Murs' album RPRT, both show half of the album covers name. It is designed well as the font of text, style and colours are continuous throughput the Digipak, making it look neat, professional and work well with the genre of music P!nk produces.

 

The  middle cover of the inside (side 5) also depicts a photo of P!nk, again relating back to Olly Murs' album.

 

P!nk's Digipak have many similarities to Olly Murs' album even though they are both listed under different genre's of music. I believe that Digipaks hold the same conventions regardless of music genre, but alter in the style they are presented.

Digipak Analysis

Olly Murs - Right Place Right Time

Side 1 - Cover (outer)

Side 2 - Back (outer)

Side 3 - Photo fold in (outer)

Sides 4 + 5 - CD slip in and leaflet slip in (Inner)

Side 6 - 2nd CD slip in (Inner)

This is Olly Murs' Digipak for his album "Right Place Right Time".

The front cover on the outside depicts a photo of Olly (the artist), his name and the name of the album. It has been designed this way to promote, firstly the artist as it shows both his name and a photo of him in the centre of the cover And also the album name as it's repeated in different styles  in the background behind Olly.

The second side which is the back cover of the album has a listing of all of Olly's songs which are on the album and which disc they're on, All the companies that were involved in producing and distributing Olly's album and the date the album was released.

The third side which is the fold in photo is a big photo of Olly that covers the whole side. I believe this is done to again, promote the artist as he is covering the entire side of the Digipak, but for a fan, it's also nice to look at as he is an idol.

The fourth and sixth sides on the inside both show half of the album covers name and all of the songs of the album in the background of each side. It is designed well as the font of text, style and colours are continuous throughput the Digipak, making it look neat and professional.

The fifth side which is the middle cover of the inside also depicts a photo of Olly looking handsome and idolistic, showing that the photo is most likely done by a professional photographer.

I have analysed this Digipak to gain insight into what each side/cover should include, colour/font themes and what different genre's have in common/contrast.

Textual Analysis of Music Video's 3

Paloma Faith - Picking Up the Pieces

At the start of the video, both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds can be heard of the setting and background of the destination the video is set in such as the wind,a crow and a car driving along and pulling up, connoting that the atmosphere is eerie and unpleasant. The song then starts at around 28 seconds into the video. 

There are no titles present throughput the video. At 2.39 the music then stops and the sound of diegetic footsteps of a lady walking can be heard which have been emphasized connoting that the atmosphere is tense and the footsteps are very loud and nerve wracking.

Just before the music starts again at 3.06 a water droplet falls making the sound of a gunshot. This ties in with the chorus lyrics - "Now she's gone, and I'm picking up the pieces", connoting the male characters lover has died and Paloma who is depicted as the girlfriend has to deal with his heartbreak even though she cannot truly replace his past lover.

Also at the start of the video, the setting is shown straight away - an old mansion, connoting that the main male character is wealthy but rather old fashioned. Throughout the video more shots of the mansion are shown including the garden where Paloma is performing which connotes that she feels left out and abandoned because of her failing relationship.

When Paloma is singing on her own outside, long shots are used to show her full body and the background with a single bench and the mansion. This connotes that she has been forced outside on her own, much like how in her relationship she feels alone and left out.

Also, lots of close ups of Paloma's face are shown to emphasize her emotionless expressions, but also because the record label demands it to promote the artist.

Importance of Digipaks and Magazine adverts

Digipaks and Magazine adverts

Digipaks are a CD case in a folded book-style paperboard, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD attached to the inside. They usually consist of 6 - 8 sides, each with a different picture, CD or leaflet attatched. The digipak design often relates to the Genre of the artist/band and usually consist of generic conventions of the chosen genre. There are also close similarities and relations between the digipak and the target audience.

Magazine advertusements for music video's/artists tend to include the single, album or tour, the release dates and an image or generic convention of the band/artsit. Most advertisements tend to be about a page of a magazine so there is enough room to fit all the information and images that need to be advertised.

Both digipaks and magazine advertizements are important because they are good for promoting the band/artist as images and important information is usually displayed ensuring the target audience are interested in what's being advertised. Particulary with Digipaks, the target audience can usually tell what the genre of the artist is based on the design and genric conventions icluded in the design.

Textual Analysis of Music Video's 2

Need U 100% - Duke Dumont

At the start of the video, the name of the song and the artist is displayed on the screen. I believe this is effective as it makes the video look professional and of a high standard.

Also, at the start and end of the video, diegetic noises from the hospital can be heard over the music, connoting that the main character is going to have an operation meaning the video should be serious, but as the story progresses we can see that the dancing juxtaposes this theme.

This video has a narrative throughout . At the start of the video, again we can see the main character in a hospital meaning he needs some sort of operation and as the story progresses we can see the reason why - he has a radio inside him in which people around him start frantically dancing to.

The majority of camera angles used are two (or more) shots showing the main character with another person dancing frantically next to him, highlighting his problem throughout the video. Long shots are also used to show who ever the main character is with dancing, which also shows the song is in the dance/pop genre.

Textual Analysis of Music Video's 1

Imagine Dragons - Radioactive

At the very start of the video, non-diegetic sound can be heard of the wind and a crow cawing connoting that the atmosphere is tense and gloomy fitting in with the visuals of the low angled long shot. A little later on, we can hear the diegetic sound of the crowd in the room, which builds up the tension again and shows that the scene is set with an audience. When the monsters and toys fight we can also hear the diegetic sound effects of the attacks connoting that they are actually fighting and they are powerful, as in when real animals fight and get hurt.

The story line of the video is based upon an underground toy brawl, with different toy contenders going up against the big purple toy champion who is owned by the venue's owner, hence why he's the champion. Throughout the video we can see that the purple monster is the strongest as it beats all its other contenders until the girl from the beginning of the videos tiny teddy toy confronts it and surprises the audience with its special powers, defeating the purple toy. I believe the story brings a moral to the video - don't let appearances fool you, as in the end the smaller toy beat the bigger scarier one. 

At the start, a mid shot is used on  a member of the band playing the drum and singing, connoting that he is a performer but also promotes him as an artist. I close up is then used of the purple monster connoting that he is scary and powerful, but is also the champion of the brawl. A low angle shot is then seen on the leader in a chair. This connoted that he is in charge of the brawl and owns the big purple monster. A two shot is seen later on of the girls pink bear shooting lasers at the two henchmen, connoting that it's powerful even though it's very small, but it is also owned by the heroin of the story.


The main focus of the video is the boxing ring underground where all the toys fight, connoting that this is the main attraction and purpose of the video. We also see the band performing, but are not really part of the story line's narrative, but rather just a live performance extra to promote the band.

There are no titles present throughout the video.

Cultural effects and theories

Cultivation theory

The Cultivation theory is a social theory which explores the long term effects of media. The main point of the cultivation theory explains that the more time people spend "living" in the on screen world, the more likely they're to believe the "social reality" portrayed on screen rather than in the real world." Cultivation leaves people with a misperception of what is true in our world.

Cultivation theory overall suggests that long term exposure to media "cultivates" viewers' perceptions of reality.


Hypodermic Needle theory

The Hypodermic Needle theory suggests that the mass media could influence a large group of people by ‘injecting’ them with messages designed to trigger a desired response which can have a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences and they will absorb all of the intended information, unknowingly believe anything they see.




Andrew Goodwin's theory

Andrew Goodwin has identified 7 key features in music videos, including - relationships between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics, relationships between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music, genre-related style and iconography present, multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist, male gaze/scantily clad often plays a major part, especially in relation to females and Intertextual references to other media texts may be present.



Male Gaze Theory

The male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey suggests that the audience are put in a position where they view things from the perspective a heterosexual male, music videos and films are constantly focus on women’s curves and events that happen to them are portrayed from a male angle.


I have looked at different theories to get a better understanding of what is commonly seen generically in music videos so that we can use these when creating and filming our own video.

Importance of Lip Syncing

Lip Syncing

Lip is syncing is the process in which an artist/band films their music video, and mimes the words of their song on set when filming (which most artists play the track on set and then record the song over the video in post production) so it appears that the artist is singing the song in the video.

Singers do this so that when the video is seen, the singing sounds a lot more realistic and professional than when it would of been live on set or in a concert as the background noise and fans would interfere with the song.

Some examples of good lip syncing would be:

Shine - Take That

The Fear - Lily Allen

Classified + Olly Murs - Inner Ninja

 

 

Lorde - Royals

 

 

Textual Analysis - Slipknot

Slipknot - Duality



The chosen genre of video we have chosen if metal/rock which is why I have chosen to analyse this video as it fits well into that genre. Again, like the Avenged Sevenfold video, this will help me identify the conventions used and how I can incorporate them into my own video.

The theme of this video is based around the band's popularity and how their fans would come from miles away to come and see them.

This video includes both performance from the band and a narrative. The band are performing throughout the video in what seems to be a house party and hoards of people are coming to see them perform. There is also intertextuality from their other videos as they are wearing their signature masks which they are always seen wearing.

Most of the video is shot with a handheld camera connoting that someone who is at the party is filming which is effective as it gives the feel of the party atmosphere and that the audience is really there.

The atmosphere is very hectic and lively, connoting that the band is very popular and energetic as are their fans. Nearer the end of the video, Slipknot are shown controlling their fans, connoting that the band are also very persuasive and have authority. Many close-ups of the band are used to show their masks, connoting that they are sinister and dark, much like the genre of their song and video.

Textual Analysis - Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold - Hail to the King

The chosen genre of video we have chosen if metal/rock which is why I have chosen to analyse this video as it fits well into that genre. This will help me identify the conventions used and how I can incorporate them into my own video.

The theme of this video is based around 'Hierarchy and power' as the narrative follows a child that then gains power and turns into a warrior, connoting that the power he inherits changes him from innocence to strength.

This video includes both narrative, and performance from the band. It features some of the bands signature items including Sinister Gates (Brian Haner)'s guitar which features in all of Avenge Sevenfold's videos. Their logo the 'BatSkull' also features in this video which again, 
appears in all of their videos.

Throughout the video, there are strong relations of lyrics to the narrative. For example, at 1.13 the lead sings 'Watch your tongue, I'll have it cut from your head' as this line is sung, a skull is shown connoting that people should watch what they say or punishment will be ensued on them.  At 2.07 the line 'Blood is spilled while holding keys to the throne' is sung and blood is then spilled in the video, connoting the King will or has died which also relates to hierarchy and whoever is at the top of the chain must carry the most responsibility. At 2.43 the line 'hail to the one' is heard, then the word 'one' flashes up onto the screen again linking the lyrics and narrative. At 4.02 the line 'taste of fear' is sung and the words show up on screen again with a skull depicted connoting that fear is both death and the right to responsibility.

Goodwin's Theory

A man named Andrew Goodwin has identified 7 key features in music videos. These features are:

- Many close-ups of the main artist or vocalist are seen, as asked for by the record label.

E.G - Olly Murs - "Oh My Goodness"

- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics used in the song.

E.G - The Script - "Man Who Can't Be Moved"

- Iconography and Genre characteristics are present throughout the video.

E.G - One Direction - "That's What Makes You Beautiful"

- A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music used in the song.

E'G - Daft Punk - "Around The World"

- Intertextual references to other media texts may be present, such as film, TV, books and other music videos.

E.G - The Wanted  - "Walks Like Rihanna"

- Laura Mulvey's Male gaze theory or scantily clad men/women often play a major part, especially seen in relation to females.

E.G - Robbie Williams - "You Know Me"

- Looking, screen within screen is usually seen such as when we see the artist within the video on TV or inside a camera.

E.G - Tegan and Sara - "Closer"